Periodic Lotka-Volterra competition equations (Q1086519)

The classical two-dimensional Lotka-Volterra competition model is examined subject to the MacArthur-Levins theory of a one-dimensional resource niche. Two cases are examined. First, under the assumption that the resource consumption rate for each of the species has small amplitude cosinusoidal periodicities while the remaining parameters are constant in time, it is shown that the stability of the system is increased when there is some difference in the ''temporal niche''; in fact, maximal stability occurs when the consumption rates are completely out-of-phase. Furthermore, minimal stability occurs, not when the consumption rates are in-phase, but when they are slightly out-of- phase. The second case is that of periodic environment and niche oscillations while the resource consumption rates are identical and the species are competing for identical (or nearly identical) niche. For this case it is established that stability is dominated by the periodicities of niche separation alone.